Hear My Cry, O Lord

Introduction

William Cowper so aptly stated, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”

The goal of this series is not to make anyone feel guilty about how little they pray

It is born out of a work God is doing in my heart ....a deepseated conviction that God is calling us to

I. Prepare your heart (v. 1-3)

A. He prayed with passion (v. 1-2)

Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. (, ESV)

The passage begins with a call for God to hear his cry

groaning (v. 1) -- can also mean sigh

cry (v. 2) -- a cry for help, it's the only time this Hebrew word is used in the OT

David's prayer is anything but calm and reserved. He is raw and vulnerable. All real, meaningful prayer begins with great need.

You will not have a meaningful prayer life if it is devoid of passion

Only desperate hearts pray like this. And you cannot manufacture desperation.

David indicates he is putting time and forethought into his prayer. He’s not just winging it. Spontaneous prayer can a good thing and at times it is very necessary. But unless you cultivate some planning and preparation into your prayer life, you will quickly run out of things to say.

How do we do this?

MORE

“Do we not miss very much of the sweetness and efficacy of prayer by a want of careful meditation beforehand. Too often we rush into the presence of God without forethought or humility.” Spurgeon

Where does this desperation come from?

B. He prioritized prayer (v. 3)

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. (, ESV)

We do not know the exact circumstance of this prayer but it may have come during his son Absalom’s rebellion

Be Worshipful Psalm 5

If this psalm did grow out of the time in the wilderness when David was fleeing from Absalom, then he teaches us an important lesson: no amount of danger or discomfort should keep us from our time of morning fellowship with the Lord

Here he mentions morning twice. He has chosen the very first part of the day to be set aside as a time to devote himself to communing with God

Notice that in v. 3 in the ESV it says “I prepare a sacrifice for you.” David is not speaking about actually offering sacrifices. That was the job of the priests. However, he uses the Hebrew word here that refers to the priests arranging the sacrifices upon the alter.

Notice that in v. 3 in the ESV it says “I prepare a sacrifice for you.” David is not speaking about actually offering sacrifices. That was the job of the priests. However, he uses the Hebrew word here that refers to the priests arranging the sacrifices upon the alter.

David indicates he is putting time and forethought into his prayer. He’s not just winging it. Spontaneous prayer can a good thing and at times it is very necessary. But unless you cultivate some planning and preparation into your prayer life, you will quickly run out of things to say.

How do we do this?

Carve out time

Use a prayer journal

Use guides such as Matthew Henry’s Method of Prayer or Valley of Vision

In two weeks, we will also talk about how to use scripture to guide us during our times of prayer

“Do we not miss very much of the sweetness and efficacy of prayer by a want of careful meditation beforehand. Too often we rush into the presence of God without forethought or humility.” Spurgeon

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.

II. Know your God (v. 4-6)

Be Worshipful Psalm 5

If this psalm did grow out of the time in the wilderness when David was fleeing from Absalom, then he teaches us an important lesson: no amount of danger or discomfort should keep us from our time of morning fellowship with the Lord

II. Know your God (v. 4-6)

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. (, ESV)

He has already acknowledged who God is in the first three verses by addressing him as Yahweh twice and “my king and my God” in verse 2. He is not speaking to a God who is unfamiliar to him. And he recognizes who he is in light of who God is. Remember, he is a king himself! But not a king like God is king. Not a king with a capital K. In his passion, David does not resort to arrogance.

In verses 4-6, he brings forth the holiness of God. David’s specific circumstances had something to do with evildoers — enemies who had rebelled against God (v. 10). And David hearkened back to what he knew about God’s nature and built it into his calls for God to intervene in his situation.

We were made to know Him! The aim of our lives must be to know HIM!

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (, ESV)

We must know the God to whom we pray! Dale Davis says, “The character of God is the basis and springboard of our prayer.”

But now he turns

What is it about the nature and character of God you need to recall today?

His holiness?

"Evil cannot be your houseguest" (v. 4)

His faithfulness?

His love? J.I. Packer says, God’s love is an exercise of his goodness toward individual sinners whereby, having identified himself with their welfare, he has given his Son to be their Savior, and now brings them to know and enjoy him in a covenant relation.

His mercy?

His mercy?

His mercy?

His omnipotence? Remove any thoughts of God’s powerlessness

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. (, ESV)

His glory?

III. Bring your request (v. 7-10)

A. We pray because of his grace

A. We pray because of his grace

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house... (, ESV)

A Handbook on the Book of Psalms Psalm 5:7

steadfast love is the Hebrew word xeseD, which includes the idea of love and devotion, and faithfulness to a promise or a covenant. When used to describe God its emphasis is on God’s faithfulness to his covenant with his people, his promise to be their God always, and to protect them and take care of them. It describes his special feeling for his people.

It is because of Jesus Christ that you and I can talk to God. You know, if you have never trusted in him, you cannot approach him with this sort of confidence.

It is not our eloquence which causes our prayers to be answered. It is the steadfast love of God.

B. We pray in an attitude of reverence

... I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. (, ESV)

We pray with an attitude of reverence knowing that we are coming into the very presence of the God we worship. The psalmist speaks of bowing down before God’s holy temple.

Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary Sanctuary (27:4–6)

Temple (4) is the standard word for a divine or royal residence (cf. 45:15 [Heb. 16], ‘palace’) and need not imply that Solomon’s Temple was already built.

He could be referring to the tabernacle or even speaking figuratively of directing his heart into the celestial throne room of God

When he speaks of fear, we are reminded that David understood well the balance of the intimacy we can have with God, all the while remembering who he is.

C. We pray with a heart of expectation

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. (, ESV)

Notice, this is the first request of the passage. Up until this point, it has been worship.

When you pray, do you expect God to act?

Marilyn Laszlo, from her book Mission Possible (chapter 14)

Recounted on https://www.raptureforums.com/forums/threads/we-dont-need-gas-god-is-enough-great-missionary-story.85314/

Marilyn dedicated her life to taking the gospel to the Sepik Iwam people in Hauna Village, Papua New Guinea.

Marilyn often sought respite on the river. If she used a conventional paddle on her dugout canoe, which she did for short tributary crossings, curious friends would usually follow her. But on days when nerves and energy had been stretched to intolerance, she often cranked up an outboard motor and went speeding across the waters like a vacationer along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.

When it became necessary to restock supplies, she would make the 110 mile trip down the Sepik River to Mission Station.

She trained eight eager apprentices some of the basics of boat maintenance: replacing spark plugs, repairing a damaged propeller, and cleaning the fuel line. They learned what equipment was necessary to take on a trip; extra spark plugs, pins, propellers, a spare fuel line, tools, flashlight s, and extra batteries.

The downriver trip to Ambunti in a dugout canoe with an outboard motor required four 5 gallon cans of gas, but it took five cans to fight the current back up the river with a full load.

Everyone was up before dawn for the exhausting job of carefully loading the cargo. The canoe needed to be properly balanced, heavier in the back than the front. Finally, near ten in the morning they shouted their good-byes and thanks to the other missionary families.

“ I had hoped to start sooner, “Marilyn told the boys. “We won’t be home until after dark because it takes at least ten hours to go back upriver.”

“We will have a bright moon, “Joel said, adding, “and new batteries for our flashlights.”

“Plenty of gas?”

“Plenty.”

Nightfall comes quickly over the jungle. But on this night, darkness lasted only half an hour when, resembling an oversized orange, the moon vaulted up before them. Quickly becoming white and bright like a celestial torch, it lit up the river from shore to shore and as far upstream as they could see. Marilyn pulled on a jacket and nestled down into her comfortable chair. Lulled by the purring motor, she fell soundly asleep.

Silence awakened her.

“What’s wrong?”she called out.

“The motor is not working.”

Have you checked the spark plugs?” Marilyn asked calmly.

“Sparks OK, “the skipper assured her.

“Fuel line dirty or kinked?”

“Fuel line OK.”

Silence-except for the lapping of river water against the canoe’s sides and the brisk kyok, kyok of a night heron.

Marilyn saw a familiar landmark that told her they were less than an hour from home. As she turned her flashlight onto the water, the light reflected off the eyes of a crocodile that was completely submerged up to his eyes. This was his hunting time. Already the canoe was beginning to drift backward with the current that flowed between three and five miles an hour. Now that they weren’t fanned away by the fast motorized travel, hungry mosquitoes swarmed on each occupant like an overstated repellent commercial. She was more than miserable and tired. Quietly Joel spoke. “I’ve checked the gas tank. It’s empty. All the gas cans are empty, too! We are completely out of strong water. “

Marilyn sat upright, exclaiming, “We can’t be! It never takes more than five cans of gas from Ambunti to home!”

She looked back and counted the fuel cans. One, two, three……..four.

“You loaded only four cans of stong water for the trip upriver?” Her voice rose. Anger etched each word. “Why only four? You were told five! When will you learn to follow instructions?”

“Gas costs so much money,” they began. “We thought-

“You thought?” she interrupted angrily. “That’s just the problem! You didn’t think! What are we going to do? You know we can’t paddle this heavy canoe upriver. We are less than an hour from Hauna, and now we’ll have to drift all the way back to Ambunti. That takes four days!”

Marilyn checked the tank herself. Empty. “What are we going to do?” she fumed loudly as she swatted futilely at the swarm of hungry mosquitoes.

Then it was as if she heard a voice say: “Marilyn, sit down. Shut your mouth; don’t say anything more.”

“OK, I can sit here and say nothing, but what are we going to do?”

She slumped back in the chair, silent at last.

“Marilyn, you’ve told us that God has created everything- the moon, the stars, the sun-and nothing ever falls down. That is a lot of power. You’ve told us that God knows where we are at all times. He knows we need gas.”

“You’ve told us that God knows where we are at all times. He knows we need gas.”

“Papa God,” she heard various ones begin to pray. “We are really in trouble. We are still an hour away from our village.”

“And mostly we are in big trouble with Marilyn,” another added softly.

“But, Papa God, you said, ‘Be there’ and all those stars started shining. The moon tonight, the sun tomorrow. All those things you made never fall down. It takes great power to hold all those stars up above us. If one of them fell, it would kill us and crush every tree.”

Marilyn felt a strange calm. She moved for a better look at the praying crew. They had laid their hands on the motor. Tears flowed hotly down her cheeks.

“Papa God,” the prayers continued, “you have much power. Your Jesus walked on the water. What is it for you to make our engine push us home? It would be nothing to you, Papa God!”

“Papa God, you are enough! Yes, you are enough; we don’t need any gas!”

“Yes, you are enough; we don’t need any gas!”

The moon was at its brightest, so Marilyn saw clearly as Joel pulled the starter rope. The motor sputtered.

“Please, Papa God! Give power to this motor,” he called out.

Joel pulled the started rope a second time. In an instant the motor started!

“Aie-yoooh!” the boys shouted.

As they beat on the sides of the canoe like a huge drum, they shouted, “Papa God! Thank you, this is great!”

“Papa God has power!”

Marilyn thought the motor was running only on a trickle of gas and gumes. As she waited for it to stop, she remembered the time Jesus had used a child to teach a lesson to his disciples, who were worrying about who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom: “Unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” ().

And the motor continued running-full speed ahead-all the way home!

IV. Rest in God (v. 11-12)

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield. (, ESV)

The emphasis of these verses is that we can take refuge in God

"you cover him with favor as with a shield" (v. 12) -- the favor of God encircles his people. It surrounds them. Throughout the Psalms, God is likened to a shield (; ; ; , [par. , ]; ; ; ; ; ; ).

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Gospel — Jesus has made this possible

Summary

Warning: this is not just another sermon series. We will not simply take on prayer as a hobby for the month. I anticipate this changing the life of our church.

Include instructions for the month here